CCC

2003 Strzelecki Stages

VRC & VCRS Rnd 2

5 April 2003

Yarram area

Never has the resolve of the Never Say Dai Rally Team been put to such a test, but even as we sat in Yarram casualty on Saturday evening, Deb was debating what colour our replacement Daihatsu Charade rally car should be.

Thirteen hours earlier, we were sitting on the side of the road with a crippled trailer and a ticking clock, wondering if the day could possibly get any worse. Only a handful of kilometres into our trip, the U-bolts on the front axle of our hire trailer snapped allowing the left hand front wheel to ride in under the rear. We were able to contact the hire firm who thankfully had a depot just a couple of minutes away but by the time they had towed out a change over trailer and we had unloaded and reloaded, we were running over an hour late for book in and facing exclusion from the event.
We raced from Cranbourne to Yarram, pushing our poor Range Rover service vehicle the hardest it has ever been pushed, towing the rally car through the hills. We arrived with seconds to spare.

A couple of our club members made space for us at the service park, where we unloaded the car (for the second time in one morning) and a sense of normalcy settled in. We were now back on track with our event schedule and we were able to leave the stress of the morning's events behind us.

The Halda check revealed a slight clunk coming from the right front suspension of the rally car as we accelerated or braked. As Deb relaxed with the other navigators preparing themselves for the 135 competitive kilometres through the twisty tourist roads of the Strzelecki ranges, Mark and I set about investigating the noise. We soon discovered a stripped bolt working loose was allowing some movement in the lower ball joint. A quick look through the service gear revealed that we didn't have the right size bolt for the job, so a quick scout around the crews about us was called for. Soon enough the car was back together and we were set to go, for the 2003 Trax-Kawasaki Strzelecki Stages.

Stage 1 was a quick dusty little spectator stage around the Yarram motoX track. We lept off the start line into a sweeping left hander, up a rise into a right on a crest, and then a steep rough drop-off into a left. The car was dancing just right and as we reached the bottom of the drop-off and I tipped into the tight left I remember thinking to myself, "this car feels perfect today!"
Being a motoX track it included a couple of small sharp jumps. We hit the first of these a little quick and the car came down hard on it's nose, but a quick inspection after the stage lay to rest any fears of incurring damage so early in the event.

Stage 2 was cut prior to the event starting.

Stage 3 from inside the car felt frustrating. I frequently found myself looking for "second and a half gear" in the gearbox as many of the corners opened out but turned up hill. About half way through we were forced to alter our line drastically though a fairly fast lefthander as we came up on a wombat right on the apex of the corner. Apart from this, the rest of the stage was OK, the car did what we asked of it, and we got to the finish content with what we had done.

Deb chatted to the other navs before the start of SS4 and came back to the car to report the our "OK" run on SS3 was in fact smooth and fast, suprising some of the crews of the bigger cars around us.
We took to SS4 with confidence knowing that we could be quick and the car was handling perfectly. We flew though the stage. The only down point was the exit of Brett and Haggis in the Big green commodore resting hard up against a bank as we blasted by them.

All that was required at service was a quick top up of fuel in preparation for the next three stages, a quick look around the car for any damage and a cup of coffee for the crew.

The drive to SS5 was a chance to get back into the rhythm after service. Deb had made a mental note of the roads last time we were here, and we couldn't wait to get back into it. The 24km stage 5 was a bit of a nightmare to read. There was three distinctly different types of road condition. Some of the corners were dry and slick, some were wet and slippery while the rest were just damp but offered an unbelievable amount of grip. We had a blast.

SS6 was, on the whole, a fun 14km stroll through the mountains, but the sun was getting low on the horizon, which was posing a bit a problem for me. The tinted visor went down, then harsh shadows and the visor went up, visor went down, visor went up, visor went down, visor went up, visor went down. We had a little bit of a lose about mid stage, which cost us a bit of time, but beside that we had a ball. I made Deb happy by smashing MY wing mirror on the timing marker at the flying finish (Happy, because it is usually her side that cops it).

Deb and I chatted madly on transport to SS7 working out where we thought we were in the class placing, and we rolled into control four seconds late. Despite this, we were determined to have another good ride. We started out on a slightly off footing with a half lose on the large rocks covering the first few turns and the sun playing havoc on our eyes. We were soon cruising (quickly) until about 200 metres from flying finish, and........ well.........we ran out of road.
The smooth left hander was a little longer than I anticipated and we started to run wide. I cranked on some more lock as we turned into the sun, and the car started to pull back into line, but not fast enough. The right hand front wheel left the road. Until we were airborne, I didn't even realise that we were in serious trouble as the setting sun blinded me to what was, or more to the point what wasn't, beyond the edge of the road.
We fell about 12 feet before the car hit the ground, on it's side, and started rolling. The first roll crushed the Navs side A pillar and gave the left front leg of the roll cage a thump on a log. On the second roll we crushed a couple of small pine trees and then a larger tree stump punched into the bonnet. We came to an abrupt stop as the car began it's third roll, a tree tearing into the bodywork just behind my seat.
We ended up on our wheels facing up the way we had come, the engine stalled. I killed the ignition and asked Deb if she was OK. "I think so?!" Was the reply. Deb's door was jammed by the deformed shell, and my door would only open a couple of inches before hitting the tree that stopped us.
Just as I was contemplating climbing out the window, the car started to slide backward further down the hill. The brakes were hard on, handbrake and the car in gear. We slid another couple of feet before we came to rest gently against a log, far enough back to get my door open. I scrambled out, grabbed the safety triangles and started to climb the hill. Deb had to climb across the seats and broken glass to get out my door and start up the hill with the OK sign. Just as I reached the road the next car came around the corner. It had been about a minute and a half since our accident began. With no signs yet displayed and only one crew member visible to them, the crew of the Pulsar were forced to stop. I yelled down the hill to double check with Deb that she was OK before telling them to press on.

Deb walked down to the finish control, arriving just as Andrew and AJ pulled up in the Mini. Deb's gibberish request for a camera was correctly interpreted as an indication that we had had a big accident and required the assistance of our service crew. AJ radioed Mark and Ange in the service park and told them what had happened.

It wasn't long before Sweep was along to collect the paperwork, and take a couple of photos. The recovery crew who pulled us out and the SES that helped, did an awesome job. It was a bloody long way down and pretty beat up but they didn't even put an extra scratch on (what was left of) the car. Our crew got us and the car back to Yarram with a minimum of fuss.

Back at Rally HQ, pain started to set in. My back had taken a beating and Deb had a sore neck and a swollen elbow from contact with my helmet in the accident, so it was decided for us that we would be visiting the hospital as a precaution. For me, the scariest moment of the whole day happened as we were being admitted to Casualty at Yarram hospital. Filling in the paper work, Deb listed her Marital Status as "Waiting"....... and under my allergies appeared "Marriage"!!!
Anyway, there we sat waiting to be attended to by the doctor with Deb picking out colours for the replacement rally car.

Our trusted silver Charade, who over the last few events had become affectionately known as Woody (from Toy Story), was written off in the accident. Its safety equipment protected us both from serious injuries. Woody contested twenty events over the past two and a half years, bringing us seven class wins in VCRS and RCRS, one VCRS Class A Navigators title and runner up Class A Driver.

We have to say a huge thank you to Jodi Mann, who proved ultra efficient and compassionate at the same time, insisting that Deb and I visit the hospital and taking care of everything for us.
......And to everyone who offered condolences and assistance, thank you so very much for reminding us in this bleak time, why Rallying is such a great sport - It's not just the cars, the speed and adrenaline, it's the people that make it great.

You will see us in the forests very soon...NEVER SAY DAI !!! :-)